How to Build a Brand That Sells with Rachel Pesso

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Lindsey Anderson Show – "How to Build a Brand That Sells with Rachel Pesso"

Introduction

In the October 8, 2024 episode of The Lindsey Anderson Show, host Lindsey Anderson welcomes Rachel Pesso, a renowned branding expert and founder of RP Creative. The episode delves deep into the art of building a compelling brand that not only attracts a high-quality audience but also drives sales and fosters lasting business growth. Listeners are treated to a wealth of actionable insights, expert strategies, and practical advice aimed at entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants eager to scale their businesses effectively.

Guest Introduction

Rachel Pesso introduces herself as a visual storyteller with over a decade of experience in helping boutique and luxury brands craft emotionally resonant designs. She emphasizes her dedication to creating brands that authentically reflect their owners’ identities and connect deeply with their target audiences. Rachel also shares a personal tidbit about her two French bulldogs, Bear and Lola, who have garnered a substantial TikTok following, showcasing her creative and personable side ([00:45]).

The Importance of Visual Storytelling in Branding

Rachel underscores the significance of visual storytelling in branding, explaining how it goes beyond mere aesthetics to convey the brand’s core values and mission. She states, “We’re known for creating brands that truly connect to who you are” ([02:48]). By delving into the "why" and "how" behind a brand, businesses can create stronger emotional ties with their audience, making their brand more memorable and impactful.

Emotional Connection and Sales

A key theme of the discussion is the correlation between emotional connection and sales. Rachel explains that branding is fundamentally about how a brand makes people feel. “If we make people feel good, they’re a lot more inclined to buy from us” ([03:25]). She uses Apple as an example, highlighting that the brand’s success isn’t solely due to its superior products but also the premium experience it offers customers ([04:17]). This emotional resonance leads to increased sales, audience growth, and customer loyalty.

Brand Consistency and Differentiation

Rachel emphasizes the necessity of brand consistency to stand out in a saturated market. With the proliferation of brands online, maintaining a cohesive look and message across all platforms is crucial for differentiation. She explains, “Without knowing who we're marketing to… it's not going to have the results that you're looking for” ([04:35]). Consistency in branding helps build recognition and trust, which are essential for long-term success.

Knowing Your Ideal Audience

Understanding and defining the ideal audience is pivotal for effective branding. Rachel advises businesses to invest time in identifying their target demographic to ensure that all branding efforts are aligned with their audience’s needs and preferences. “Defining your mission statement, figuring out who your ideal audience is, defining those feelings that you want in your brand… that is truly, I call it the bones of the brand” ([06:03]). This foundational clarity ensures that every aspect of the brand, from visuals to messaging, resonates with the intended audience.

Overcoming Common Branding Obstacles

Rachel identifies common challenges businesses face in branding, particularly in distinguishing themselves from competitors. She notes the dilemma of balancing personal and business elements in branding without oversharing. “The biggest thing people are running into is how do they differentiate themselves?” ([12:01]). Rachel suggests finding a balance between personal stories and business-related content to build trust without compromising professionalism.

Personalization vs. Oversharing

The conversation addresses the fine line between personalizing a brand and oversharing personal details. Rachel advises, “If you wouldn’t share it with a stranger, you’re just like a thing” ([15:44]). She emphasizes the importance of sharing enough to build a connection and trust without divulging overly personal or potentially detrimental information. This approach helps maintain professionalism while still conveying authenticity.

Building Brand Intentionality

Rachel highlights the importance of intentionality in branding. By defining specific brand concepts—such as empowerment, freedom, or ease—businesses can ensure that every piece of content they create aligns with these core values. “If you can actually laser focus and pull those out, then you can actually everything that you create” ([17:13]). This intentional approach ensures that all brand elements work harmoniously to evoke the desired emotional responses from the audience.

Future of Branding and Authenticity

Looking ahead, Rachel predicts a continued emphasis on authenticity in branding. She believes that as technology evolves, the human element will remain irreplaceable. “If we're staying in that energy zone when we're creating stuff for our brand, people will feel that and it’s going to come through” ([19:17]). Rachel anticipates that brands will increasingly leverage their core values and genuine connections to differentiate themselves in an ever-changing digital landscape.

Lessons Learned and Advice from Rachel Pesso

Rachel shares valuable lessons from her branding journey, including the importance of hiring industry-specific experts and seeking mentorship. She reflects, “I wish I knew before I started was to hire experts that are in the field you're looking to grow” ([21:20]). Additionally, she stresses the significance of finding mentors who have already navigated the path you aspire to follow, providing guidance and avoiding common pitfalls.

How to Connect with Rachel Pesso

In closing, Rachel provides listeners with ways to connect and engage with her work. She encourages them to visit her website at rachelpesso.com to explore her portfolio and take advantage of her brand quiz. She is also active on Instagram under the handle @Rachelpasso, where she shares insights and interacts with her audience ([23:13]).

Conclusion

This episode of The Lindsey Anderson Show offers a comprehensive exploration of effective branding strategies with Rachel Pesso. From the importance of emotional connections and brand consistency to the delicate balance of personalization, Rachel provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to build brands that resonate and sell. Her insights equip listeners with the tools to create authentic, impactful brands that stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Notable Quotes:

• Rachel Pesso on brand connection: “We’re known for creating brands that truly connect to who you are.” ([02:48])
• On emotions driving sales: “If we make people feel good, they’re a lot more inclined to buy from us.” ([03:25])
• On brand clarity: “Defining your mission statement, figuring out who your ideal audience is, defining those feelings that you want in your brand… that is truly, I call it the bones of the brand.” ([06:03])
• On authenticity: “Stay in that energy zone when we're creating stuff for our brand, people will feel that and it’s going to come through.” ([19:17])
• On hiring experts: “I wish I knew before I started was to hire experts that are in the field you're looking to grow.” ([21:20])

This episode serves as a vital resource for anyone looking to enhance their branding efforts, offering clear, actionable strategies grounded in real-world experience and expertise.

Transcript

[Rachel Pesso]

Hey, everybody.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Welcome to this episode of the Millionaire Maker Show. I am your host, Lindsey Anderson. And today we have a very special guest episode, Ms. Rachel Pesso. And during this interview we talk about visual storytelling and the importance of branding when it comes to really attracting a high quality audience and being able to close more sales in your business. Rachel is a branding expert and this interview was full of actionable tips on how to build a brand that will actually bring you more time, more money, more freedom, and more impact. Now let's hop into our interview with Ms. Rachel Pesso.

[Unknown]

Are you ready for next level growth in your business? Welcome to the Millionaire Maker show where we pull back the curtain on the exact strategies, tools and mindsets that build million dollar empires. If you're hungry for more time, more freedom, and a whole lot more impact, you've come to the right place. Buckle up because we're about to ignite your business journey. Now here's Lindsay.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Hey, everybody. Welcome to this episode of the Millionaire Maker Show. Today I have a very Special guest on Ms. Rachel Pesso. She is a visual storyteller, branding expert, and founder of RP Creative. And she helps boutique and luxury brands develop designs rooted in emotional connection and powerful visual storytelling to elevate their brand. We're going to talk to her today about storytelling, branding, rebranding and the importance of that and how it can help us make more sales online. Welcome to the show, Rachel. So glad to have you on today.

[Rachel Pesso]

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here and dive into this conversation.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Rachel, I heard that you have some pretty popular French bulldogs over there on TikTok, right?

[Rachel Pesso]

I have two French bulldogs. Their name is Bear and Lola and they have their own little TikTok following of. We're about like 14, 000 followers right now and growing. They're hilarious. We go live, we hang out, we do all different tricks and it's a super fun time over on TikTok.

[Lindsey Anderson]

That's. How often do you post for those guys?

[Rachel Pesso]

Ooh, right now I'm really pushing their brand, so I'm doing it at least two times a day at this point. So we've been going hard and it's really fun though. It's just my own fun place to just hang out and connect with other digital creators and whatnot. I love TikTok. It's just a really creative platform outside.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Of some very famous French bulldogs. What are you known for in the business world, Rachel?

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, thanks for asking. So really what we're known for is creating brands that truly Connect to who you are. I go really deep into figuring out what are the things that we need people to know about your brand and going deep into the why and how we want people to feel. We've been in business over 10 years and we work with a lot of industry leaders on giving them share who they are and telling their stories.

[Lindsey Anderson]

And how does that translate into sales or a more profitable business? How important is that versus just like an ego play, like I want it to be all about me. So separate that for us.

[Rachel Pesso]

Exactly. Branding. Everybody knows that we know brands based on how they make us feel. The way it translates is if we make people feel good, a lot more inclined to buy from us, they're a lot more inclined to follow us, join our podcast, interact with us. So the more that we can make people feel things in our brand, the more valuable it will convert into sales, into audience growth and all sorts of things. I always like to use the example of even like Apple. When you walk into an Apple store, it's not just about how great the products are, it's about the experience. You walk in, there are people immediately there to help you. It feels high level and next level. And so we want our brands to ignite those same feelings. And you could obviously say the same with any brand online or in person. They're all focusing on that big piece, which is how do we want people to feel?

[Lindsey Anderson]

Yeah, it's true. The old adage is true that people buy based on emotions no matter how much we want to logically talk to them. When you're ready to buy or make those purchasing decisions, it really comes down to an emotional decision. And so how is your brand making them feel? How is that staying congruent? And how do they even know it's you?

[Rachel Pesso]

Exactly. And I feel like one of the other big pieces. And I always say this, like a lot of people right now are like, why should we care about branding? Why should we do it? Why should we invest in custom websites? And the truth is because it helps you differentiate for your competition and meaning that there's tons of brands online these days and marketing is getting harder and harder. We want it to be that when someone interacts with our brands, whether it's social media, on our websites, through our podcasts, we want that congruent message. We want the look and feel that is telling the story, kind of the same theme across the board. So that way people can really have that human connection, brand recognition. It's when you have that, it starts to build loyalty and trust. And that's really how we retain customers. So I think that's the bigger part. It's not just the visual piece, which is obviously the fun, amazing part of what I do, but it's not the part that actually is what gets you clients or creates that roi. It's all the work behind the brand and keeping that consistent is what really makes the difference.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Especially because it's so easy to get online and start a business. People we talk about TikTok, you go through TikTok and there's someone new there every day. So how do they remember it's even you versus 10 other people that they saw. And so having this congruent, oh, that's that girl that I had insight from before. So I'm going to watch it again. Just reminding them, like having an anchor point to this is me.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah. And I think one of the other big pieces that I always like to remind people, whether you're starting out or wherever you are on your journey with your brand, is that knowing who your ideal audience is truly key. Because if we actually don't hone into that piece and we just go into creation mode, a lot of the times people are like, oh, I really don't want to go into this whole in depth branding process. Can't we just design the site? And I don't even do a crazy in depth branding process from that perspective. But I understand the resistance because people want things to move quickly, especially the way things go on in this space. But without knowing who we're marketing to, without knowing the same question I just asked you before, which how you want people to feel when they interact with your brand. If we can't tie all that together, then when we go to design something or you create a landing page or you're doing marketing on your social media, if we're not targeting the right people, then it's not going to have the results that you're looking for. So I'm really big on brand clarity. Defining your mission statement, figuring out who your ideal audience is, defining those feelings that you want in your brand and the brand concepts. Because that is truly, I call it the bones of the brand. And that's the piece that people are underlying, searching for when they're going and interacting with your stuff.

[Lindsey Anderson]

The way that I like to look at it, to double down on your point is if you don't know who that one true client is and who you're actually talking to, that's the bait that you're using to actually attract more of similar clients to come to you. If you're using a different kind of bait or you're guessing on the bait, you'll just catch whatever's out there because the brand matters, the visuals matter. The words you use literally are the bait.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, I love that. And branding in itself is a combination of all these things. A lot of the times there's always these debates between brand strategists and visual designers. And it's all branding. It's all under that brand umbrella. If you're looking to hire somebody or you're going through the process of I need to figure out my brand or I need to get more clear on it, really defining what areas, is it copy? Is it your visuals, is it your website? These are all areas of your brand, extensions of your brand. And I think they're all important. And defining the needs of that I think are the most important, really important.

[Lindsey Anderson]

You guys, you cannot undervalue like a good branding process. And like thinking through this.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, I really fell into kind of having my own business. I had reached out to somebody I went to art school with at the time. She was actually. Her name is Giada Ford. She's an amazing creative director. I've talked about her like a lot because she impacted my me starting my own business. She mentored me into launching my business. One of the biggest things that I not only learned from her, but I learned from going from traditional working in the corporate space to now is I didn't realize how much all brands needed that personalization. When you work in the corporate space, a lot of it is really, especially if you're just a designer working on a corporate brand, you're really just doing a lot of day to day branding work. So you're not specifically working on helping people build brands from the perspective of how I'm doing it now in my business. So one of the really pivotal moments for me was realizing how impactful your personality and your emotional experience that you can create in your brands. And an example I have of that is one of my first clients, Lori Harder. I say first clients because I had worked on a bunch of projects in collaboration with other designers and art directors. And I feel like this one was one of the ones that I was like, I'm doing this one on my own. I got this. And Lori Harder blew my mind because she was at a point in her career where she really wanted to be known for something different than the fitness space. She had done amazing work there. But she had come to me and said, everybody thinks that I'm just like this beautiful fitness person and I have so Much more to offer. Like, how can we change that? What is the story that needs to be told here? And I was like, obviously, you're more than that. We all know that. But from the outside, we needed to help people see it. So one of the biggest things was her photos. They weren't showing the depth of her as a person. They were just showing, like, these beautiful shots of her doing fitness. And there were shots of her kind of lifestyle branding, but it just wasn't going deep enough. So when she redid the photo shoot for the rebrand that we had done, we spent a lot of time on focusing on how we can make her feel relatable. She did shots of herself in a robe, in her bathtub. She did shots of herself wearing much more casual clothing. And it brought a really human part of her brand that I think a lot of people weren't seeing at the time. That was back in 2015, where I feel like branding online space was a lot different. It was very visual. Take a picture of yourself and your lifestyle branding. So I feel like we really wanted to bring dap to her photo shoots. And to be honest, it made such a big difference. I knew that it would. But when I saw it come to life, it was just so pivotal for me because I had known that this was going to translate in that way. And she built her audience by going on live, and this was one of the things I really learned from her. She showed up every day on Live for probably about a year, and I'm convinced that's truly, like, how she built her whole audience, like, from then till now, because she showed up every day for people. No matter how many people were on that live, she was there. And I love that part about the way she built the brand, doing the.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Work that others aren't willing to do, being okay with looking stupid, all those things anyone can get there, but it's like doing those reps to actually make it happen. So in terms of branding and as people are, like, approaching their brand and they want to build a really solid brand, what are some common obstacles that you've seen that people run into?

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, it's a great question. I think that especially right now, one of the biggest things people are running into is how do they differentiate themselves? What are the things that they share and what are the things they don't share when it comes to your brand? I think a lot of the times people are getting stuck there right now because there's so much going on with Instagram stories and Instagram reels and all the different ways that we can share who we are online. And I think right now, what I think works really well is finding that balance between sharing your personal, but then also leaning into the business stuff. And I always try to tell people, bringing personalization to your brand doesn't mean that you have to share every single thing about your life. You share what you want, you share what you're comfortable with. And also you don't have to go into. You could always share a story that connects to what it is that you do. I think that a lot of the times, and I'll use myself as an example when it comes to using my voice, I haven't really done like, I hadn't done a lot of that until I launched my podcast. I spent a lot of time behind the scenes. And so I started being like, oh, I need people to really understand who I am. It's going to help them want to work with me because they'll know the type of expert I am, they'll know what type of life I have. They'll get to know me and my husband and my family like things like that. It doesn't mean that I'm sharing my deepest, darkest secrets with everybody online, but it just means you're sharing a little sliver. And I do think right now that's it's not that it has to happen. It's just the people that are doing that, there's a level of trust that they're building in their brands that people are seeing what they're doing. So they are immediately are finding ways to trust them. And again, we're talking specifically more personal brands. But if you have a company, same thing. People love to know the people behind the company. Take Sara Blakely, who just launched her new sneaker line. One of the strongest things about her brand overall is that she shared so much about her process, her story, her personal life, and tons of people have connected with that. And that's why she has a huge following and has been able to build tons of million dollar brands. So I always like to give that as an example. It's an amazing way to just like really tap into that connection piece.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Yeah. And I think it can be a slippery slope though. Let's talk a little bit about this. Because, like, it's easier to get likes, it's easier to get views. Like the more, the more on that personal side that you get. And so if you're trying to sell something, you always. So I always view it as you gotta put the attorney filter on this thing, which is if my attorney is doing. Am I, like, super happy that I'm still his client? Basically, because you can, like the draw of oversharing. Can. Can really. It doesn't help, but it. It's a real shady line. Can you speak to that?

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, I definitely can. And I'm not the one who's going to be like, hey, don't share that. I think it's too much. But listen, if people are trusting you, for example, if I was posting things online, ooh, I'm feeling really energetically drained and, oh, I'm all burnt out. To be honest, who really would want to hire me as a creative If I was going through that experience, I definitely probably wouldn't share it publicly because that would change the way that people were thinking and feeling. Although I think there's ways to do it in a positive life. Hey, I'm going through this really hard. These are the things that I'm doing to actually protect myself. I think there's lots of ways to do it right. And also there's ways to just not share it. People share what they want to share. And I think just remembering that as a brand, because it's easy to overshare. But these people are not your best friends. If you wouldn't share it with a stranger, you're just like a thing.

[Lindsey Anderson]

You're just like a TV show character, basically.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, yeah. And I've actually said this recently on another podcast, but social media is not a safe place. It really isn't. You can't just go on your platform and share something like, you will get hate. You will get people to say mean things. You might get a lot of support too. If you're in a bad place. I don't think a therapist would recommend going to your stories and sharing. Sharing for support back. I always say take it with a grain of salt. Share what you feel good with. And I think for me personally, on my own journey with this, I've always felt a little. It's always been hard for me to really stand strong in my own opinions. I'm a little bit of a people pleaser, so I feel like I'm not one of those to go on social media and stand boldly in my thoughts. But as I started my own podcast and have been speaking of a lot more, I'm learning how to do it in the way that feels good for me. And I'm still being authentically myself and honest. And I think that's the most important part.

[Lindsey Anderson]

And those are the underlyings of a strong brand.

[Rachel Pesso]

Right.

[Lindsey Anderson]

All these things that we're that we're.

[Rachel Pesso]

Talking about in terms of the brand.

[Lindsey Anderson]

A brand is more than just going with Rachel and she walks you through these branding exercises and then you have some really great fonts and you know what pictures to post. A brand is deeper than that. It's something that should be instilled in company culture. It shows up everywhere. Is there any tips that you can give the audience about how to remember to do that daily? Or what are some like little things that I can remember or do to bring the brand so it can really shine from the inside out?

[Rachel Pesso]

One of the big things that I love to talk about is pulling out brand concepts. So let's say you want people to feel empowered when they interact with your brand, or you want them to feel at ease, or you want them to feel freedom. Whatever your core values are in your business and for your brand. I always say if you can actually laser focus and pull those out, then you can actually everything that you create. Let's say you're going to create a piece of content for social media, or you're working on a graphic or a sales page for your launch that's upcoming. You can actually say, does this feel empowered? Do my images support empowerment? Do they align with making people feel empowered? Or how can I create content that helps people feel empowered? So the words, even though it's so simple, just pull out three brand concepts for your business, how you want people to feel when they interact with your brand and then create from that place. Do my photos align? Do my copy align? Is this actually igniting that feeling? And if you're listening and you're like, oh, I'm not really sure how, like sometimes it's a little intangible. How will I make people feel? I can't think of a word right now. How can I make people feel, I keep thinking empowered, but empowerment, how do I make people feel empowered? It could be showing a photo of yourself feeling empowered. Maybe your standing outside in a really bold position. Or maybe the photo is of a woman who's doing something empowering like taking care of herself. Or even if it's just a way that you define it. I think we all see these things in different ways. A lot of the times I'll show all these different photos and ask people how they make them feel. And people will feel different things. It's not an exact science here, but if you put the intention behind it and then you tie words and other creative elements like colors and bonds that speak to those types of core values and personalities, it's going to ignite that visually and underneath the brand and people, it will come through.

[Lindsey Anderson]

It's all those details that matter. Like it's all that matters because that's all people are seeing. So it's the details that will actually elevate your brand to the next level versus just being another AI bot brand out there.

[Rachel Pesso]

Exactly. And I feel like that's the part, even if you're listening, you just take away that one piece and you start implementing it will make a huge difference because intention is everything. So if we have intention behind what we create, people feel bad. And I really do believe in that energetic exchange when it comes to all of our services and branding and stuff.

[Lindsey Anderson]

So what's the future of like branding and personal branding? What do you see in the future?

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, it's actually hard to tell what's real and what isn't. That authenticity piece, the part of really bringing in those core values into your business and your companies is going to be huge, I think. And again, it really has to do with those core pieces because it's all where it's built from. If we can truly tune in to the things that we're trying to help people with, the solutions being of service, if we stay in that energy zone when we're creating stuff for our brand, people will feel that and it's going to come through. And I think for the future of branding, we're going to see some crazy stuff. There's going to probably be brands that are created all from a. They're already happening. But I think it's going to be a bumpy ride, truthfully, because when it comes to tech and the creative side, it's just a lot of things are happening there. I know for me, I'm going back to really doing a lot more one on one and really connecting with people because I feel like no matter how much is evolving, that is just not going to change the energy exchange between people and what a human can do, a computer can't. I agree.

[Lindsey Anderson]

It's really what's going to set us apart from the bots.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yes, a hundred percent.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Rachel, what is one thing that you wish you would have known before you got started in this personal branding journey?

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah, that's a great question. One of the things that I really wish I knew who before I started was to hire experts that are in the field you're looking to grow. I think one of the mistakes I made early on is I hired different business coaches and not knocking them in any sort of way, but my business is more structured around agencies and I feel like something I never really thought of was that I should have hired experts that were helping other creatives and agencies because it is quite different. The different problems, the different things that I face in my creative business are very different than a coaching business or another type of business. And I felt like if I had done that, I would have learned a lot of other things a little bit sooner. So I always say hire the experts that are doing what you already want to be doing, because I think that is just a more straightforward path.

[Lindsey Anderson]

You got to find somebody who's already paved the exact way you want to go or as close as you can, because they'll just give you the. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[Rachel Pesso]

On this thing and find a mentor. I feel like that's another part that not a lot of people talk about. But I do feel, truthfully, if I hadn't found the mentor that I had. And honestly, it was not Paige. She actually wanted to help me and it was so inspiring. There are so many people out there that truly just want to help help you from the perspective of showing you the way, telling you what's worked for them. Podcasts are great for that. I always like to tell people the reminder because not everybody can pay depending on where they are in their journeys. I feel like it does hold a lot of people back. I love being able to remind people of that because there are so many people out there that are really willing to help you.

[Lindsey Anderson]

I like that. I like that. Thank you so much for joining us on the show. I'm going to turn the time over to you to let everybody know how to find you and anything else you want the audience to know.

[Rachel Pesso]

Yeah. Great. So if you want to connect with me, you can go to rachelpesso.com that's my website. You can check out our work there. But if you want to hang out on social media, it's just Instagram at Rachelpasso on all platforms. So we hang out the most on Instagram and we have a great brand quiz which also can be taken on our website rachelpesso.com quiz.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Awesome. Thank you, Rachel, for being a guest on the show.

[Rachel Pesso]

Thank you so much.

[Lindsey Anderson]

Thank you for joining me for this very powerful episode of the Millionaire Maker Show. A big thank you to Rachel for this interview. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode. Cheers to you and your success.

[Unknown]

That's a wrap for today's episode of the Millionaire Maker Show. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share how you're leveling up your business. Want more? Connect with Lindsay Anderson and get the tools you need to crush your [e-mail] com until next time. Keep pushing, keep growing, and turn those business dreams into reality.